Solar Car

What Is A Solar Electric Car And What Does The Market Offer?

A solar electric car will usually refer to the system developed by Solar Electrical Vehicle, which generates energy from captioned sunlight and then converts it to high voltage. This voltage is used to charge the supplemental battery and the Hybrid Vehicle battery pack. In this manner, a hybrid car will operate longer in the electric mode. The SEV system was built as an integrated accessory system with a solar module, an additional battery pack and a charge controlling system.

solar electric car

Generally, solar vehicles are known as electric vehicles that are fully or partially powered by direct solar energy. In order for the sun’s energy to be converted directly into electric energy, solar panels that are made up of photovoltaic cells are usually used. A solar vehicle will benefit of the solar energy to power all of the vehicle’s propulsion or only a part of it. Communications, controls and other functions may also be powered by converting solar energy.

For the moment, solar vehicles have not proven to be a practical day-by-day means of transportation and they remain demonstration vehicles and a part of engineering research activities.
What are some solar electric car models that have been developed by now?

By using the SEV solar system, Toyota Prius is able to operate in electric mode up to 30 miles (48.2 km) per day. This ensures a fuel economy improved by up to 34 to 60 percent, depending on the driving style of the owner and on environment conditions. A new hybrid, respectively the Fisker Karma, is a sport sedan that also presents a solar panel roof aimed at gathering energy to be used by the hybrid system. Experts estimate that the roof can provide a number of up to four or five miles of further travel on its own, by powering the electric system.

Let’s discuss a few advantages and disadvantages of the solar powered system

The main advantage offered by solar powered cars is that they lack tailpipe emissions, since they do not burn fossil fuel, but use the sun’s energy to obtain electricity. A main disadvantage would be that the photovoltaic cells, the ones responsible for the conversion of energy, are quite expensive, with a single cell going up to hundreds of dollars in cost. Even a small solar vehicle would need a large number of such cells.

The best choice for a solar electric car may be not to use direct solar power. There are experiments being performed where electric cars are charged by use of solar panels attached to homes. Racecars that use the solar energy directly will usually be very flat, made entirely of solar panes and will have a single seat. This means that they are not appropriate for daily use, while a solar electric car should be able to function as a family car as well.

We are now more and more familiar with cars that are powered otherwise than by gasoline. There are electric cars that are becoming more popular, such as Tesla Roadster and Nissan Leaf, and experiments are currently being run with hydrogen fuel cell power. Our question is: when will the solar electric car become a day-to-day driving option?